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　　Once there was a farmer．He only had two pairs of shoes．One day he went out for a walk with his daughter．The farmer put on a pair of wrong shoes, one with a thick sole(鞋底)and the other with a thin one．He began to walk, but he felt very uncomfortable．When he was just out of the house, he turned to his daughter and said, “Why should one of my legs be longer than the other today?” The daughter looked at his father’s legs carefully as he was walking and then laughed, “Oh, no, Dad, your legs are all right．You have put on the wrong shoes．”

　　The farmer was very unhappy to hear that and said to himself, “What a clever daughter I have!” Then he asked his daughter to go back and get the other pair of shoes for him．

　　Later, she returned to his father with nothing in her hands and said, “It’s of no use changing them, Dad! The shoes were not a pair, either．”

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　　People have long thought that dinosaurs were brown or gray in color．To examine is one important way to find out the answer．The word“examine”is to look at or consider something in detail in order to discover something about them．After examining the remains(遺骸)of a dinosaur, scientists say they have found evidence it had bright-coloured feathers．The findings were printed in Science magazine．

　　American and Chinese scientists did careful research and re-built the feathers of a flightless dinosaur．The small, two-legged creature(生物)lived about one hundred-fifty million years ago．It would have weighed only about one hundred ten grams．The dinosaur's remains were discovered in Liaoning Province in China．Researchers studied melanosomes(黑素體)in the feathers．These melanosomes are small, color-producing things, and they formed as the dinosaur was developing．The researchers compared them to the melanosomes that control the colour of feathers on modern birds．They were then able to make out the colors of the dinosaur feathers．The dinosaur appeared to have a dark gray or black body．The top of the creature was light brown in color．And, it had bright white wings．Each of the feathers had black on the end．

　　Richard Prum, a biologist at Yale University, says the melanosomes were in very good condition．He says the dinosaur would be a beautiful creature if it were still alive．

　　The discovery is useful to scientists in another way．It helps them better understand not only how dinosaurs looked but also how they lived in their daily life．Some researchers plan to use this way to study the colours of other feathered dinosaurs．

閱讀理解

　　Snowflakes(雪花)seem like white stars falling from the sky．But they don't always look white．Sometimes they appear to have other colors．Some are red, yellow, or black．There have been snowflakes of almost every shape．Think how it would seem to have these coining all around you．Wouldn't they look pretty?

　　Black snow came down in France one year．Another year gray snow fell in Japan．It was found that such snow was mixed with ashes．This made it seem dark．Red snow has come down in other countries．When this happened．it was mixed with red dust．That is why it looked different．Most snow looks white, but it is really the color of ice。It is ice that comes from snow clouds．Each snowflake begins with a small drop of water．More water forms around this drop．The way the water freezes gives the snowflake its shape．

　　No two snowflakes are of ever just the same size or shape．All start out flat and have six sides．Some snowflakes are broken when they hit the ground．Others melt(融化)as they fall．When air is cold and dry, the falling snowflakes are small and hard．If the air is wet and warm, the snowflakes are big and soft．

　　Would you be surprised to see snowflakes as big as your head falling from the sky? It happened once in our country．It could happen again．